Tossed my acoustic off a sailboat

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:13 pm

(onto the dock)...

I didn't take it out of its case until today, and tuned it up. Horrified, I realized it had the action of a slide guitar, and found a split in the neck. The crack lies next to the adjoinment of two pieces of wood. I loosened the strings and the split sort of joined itself...

DIY fixable? I bet if I got some wood glue in there it would work.

iPhone pic:

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:22 pm

ouch.... I would not use wood glue, they make epoxy specificly for this.... I know Fran has experience from his Acrylic BC... he may pop in to help

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:58 pm

WHY WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THIS

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:29 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:WHY WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THIS

Will · Post by **Will** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:45 pm

The repair depends on how nice the guitar is.

In a basic sense, you'd use a pipette to inject water-thin glue deep into the crack and then clamp it using a caul. Then sand/file any glue lines and touch up the finish. Since the crack is probably clean and still mates well, I'd use a wood glue.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:04 pm

Billy3000 wrote:
hotrodperlmutter wrote:WHY WOULD I HAVE DONE THIS

It was in a shitty soft case, to be fair. Plus I had just pulled an all nighter and was anxious to drive home and sleep. But yeah. Fucking stupid.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:05 pm

Will wrote:The repair depends on how nice the guitar is.

In a basic sense, you'd use a pipette to inject water-thin glue deep into the crack and then clamp it using a caul. Then sand/file any glue lines and touch up the finish. Since the crack is probably clean and still mates well, I'd use a wood glue.

Dilute wood glue with some water and inject with pipette? Or is there a specific type of glue that would work?

It's an 100$ Jasmine by Takamine, so I'm not paying anyone to fix er up.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:17 pm

I wouldn't dilute it that much but yeah, that should work. wood glue is really strong for this purpose. it should be even stronger than it was before you broke it when you are done.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:26 pm

in order to fix that really well, you need to break it clean-off, throw some epoxy in there (it shouldn't need too much), clamp it up tight, and hope it stays in tune.

if it doesn't splinter too bad and it looks like it's going to fit back together with no gaps, you should be able to fix it; no problem. Either way, it may or may not stay in tune after you re-glue it.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:33 pm

Mages wrote:I wouldn't dilute it that much but yeah, that should work. wood glue is really strong for this purpose. it should be even stronger than it was before you broke it when you are done.

Exactly; you'll note it's the wood that broke, not the joint.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:44 pm

Suggested brands of wood glue?

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:18 pm

Probably doesn't much matter. If it's sufficient for carpentry, it should be alright.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:53 pm

portugalwillie wrote:in order to fix that really well, you need to break it clean-off, throw some epoxy in there (it shouldn't need too much), clamp it up tight, and hope it stays in tune.

if it doesn't splinter too bad and it looks like it's going to fit back together with no gaps, you should be able to fix it; no problem. Either way, it may or may not stay in tune after you re-glue it.

NO. The break is under the fretboard.

Will · Post by **Will** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:58 pm

cobascis wrote:Suggested brands of wood glue?

I'd go to a woodworking shop and ask.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:44 pm

IS THAT A FUCKING STUFFED RATTLESNAKE ON THAT DESK THERE?

GreenKnee · Post by **GreenKnee** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:51 pm

portugalwillie wrote:in order to fix that really well, you need to break it clean-off, throw some epoxy in there (it shouldn't need too much), clamp it up tight, and hope it stays in tune.

if it doesn't splinter too bad and it looks like it's going to fit back together with no gaps, you should be able to fix it; no problem. Either way, it may or may not stay in tune after you re-glue it.

This sounds like the WORST.IDEA.EVER.

Why break it off completely? Surely thats gonna take some strength to do, and the wood splinters are going to bend. As it is now, if the wood glue is strong stuff, then just opening the break a tiny bit, getting the glue in deep, ensuring nice coverage, and strong clamping to the neck, it will be a perfect fix.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:39 am

Definitely don't break it off. And I'd steer clear of epoxy as well. With a clean crack you won't need gap-filling, and, should it re-break, you don't want too much glue residue in the break as that impedes future repair.

The bar-none best, and possibly easiest, way to do this would be to use hot Hide Glue. You can mix it near water-thin because of the heat and let it flow deep into the crack. It also won't damage the finish like epoxy, and runout can be cleaned with a hot, damp rag.
A good woodworking shop should have hide glue powder. You'll dissolve it in water and heat it with a double pan (like melting chocolate).

Here's a good article:
http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/pro ... 4_hideglue

George · Post by **George** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 2:32 am

What a lad

holyCATS1415 · Post by **holyCATS1415** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 3:24 am

I use titebond on 90% of the repairs I do for customers. NEVER use epoxy on a guitar or gorilla glue, its the quickest way to permanently ruin your guitar.

iCEByTes · Post by **iCEByTes** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 3:28 am

wood glue and clamps.